I'm thinking November or March of next year. It would be my first time venturing out to Europe, but I'll probably be doing it alone since the PF is anti-Europe (well, let's just say he wants to go to Tokyo before Tuscany and I'm vicey versey on it.)

Last night I swear the skunk tried to crawl into my room through the hole carved in the wall for the cats to climb out and into the skunk run. Yes, Bracket is still around (although as you recall, Knuckles disappeared about 1.5 years ago.)

Ironic Breezes are working overtime. The number of cats in this house is really obnoxious, but they are all adorable, so how do you decide which ones get the axe? Really, there's nothing to be done except hope the old ones die off. I've never lived with so many animals in one small space. It's a lot. After this is over, I won't do it ever again, swear to god.

I'm still in no-spend-money mode, but I guess I must be used to it now, because I was surprised that there is plenty of money to get me through to the end of the month. This, by the way, is not the norm at all. I had to check my bill-pay to make sure I hadn't missed anything important. Nope, I've just been eating lots of soup. Which is good. Because somehow, I lost another pound or two without trying. I just checked yesterday at Rite Aid on my way home. It could be stress, though.

Because this week, my mom had heart surgery. Nothing too major, just an angiogram and yesterday she had an angioplasty (that link has an animated view of an angio balloon, but I don't get where the "cholesterol" goes, I guess it just flattens out of the way.) Still, it's scary. And it makes me really upset. Sure, there are reasons for her to have problems like that. She's heavy, depressed, doesn't exercise enough, has diabetes, and she just turned 60. I just know that breast cancer is right around the corner, and that I'm going to follow in her footsteps if I don't seriously take care of myself. Other than those pleasant thoughts, I'm soooo glad there were no complications. I don't know who to thank, besides her doctor, because I don't pray (or at least not regularly and to any entity.) I took her a lovely rose bush full of flowers and a get well card and sat with her yesterday in the hospital. Today, I'll take her home.

I love her so much, and am so frustrated with her, all at the same time. I think this is typical of most mom/daughter relationships from the adult daughter point of view.

In other news, I started my "new job" yesterday. Basically, I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm just here until I am given some good instructions. Other than that, I give pointers to the person who replaced me and I have been shopping for new pants online because my work pants are all too big for me. I'm scared to donate them because what if it is just stress and I am really just a fat girl in a dehydrated body or something? Yesterday I paperclipped my pants to make them stay up, and then I had to run for a bus and they started falling off. Not so as most people would notice, but I could tell I was flashing undergarments, which is not cool, no matter how many idiots walk around with their underwear half out. Note to self: duct tape probably works better than paper clips.

Congratulations to Melanie and Chris and Steven, they are having Twinses! Granted, that's high risk pregnancy, but hello, it's TWINSES!!!
Mel: nursing twins= "football hold" in case no one has told you yet (I can't get into your comments for some reason today.) Get ready for top down/double on action. One lady I know used to walk around her house holding her kids like footballs to get them both fed in a jiffy. Also be on the lookout for big biceps from carrying those baby carrier things that I can't even lift, and for the fat meltdown that happens when you nurse one kid (and multiply it by 2). You're very lucky, lady! Congrats again, and I hope they don't want to be soccer players or anything, because it can't be a good thing to be kicked in the lungs by 4 little footies. In any case, I'm very happy for you and waiting for the sonograms to be scanned and posted. Much love!

In other news,

My new job starts in 2 days.

Session ends on Friday, so hopefully it will slow down around here.

I'm still trying to move out completely from my old house. I need to meet someone who replaces screens in sliding screen doors. I thought it was easy to do, but nope.

There was a weird smell in the house this morning (not surprising with 7 cats and 4 dogs), but it was probably coming from the frogs. Erica fed Sparky and Beep (her name is Beep) a giant tomato hornworm nearly as big as Beep a couple of days ago. And guess what? Frogs get green slimy diarrhea and it just sort of pours out of them and smells godawful, like a sewer in a swamp in hell. But luckily, it was just frogs. In my bedroom. I immediately removed said wasted efforts last night, and began serious hydration of said frogs, because if they are anything like people, they need to hydrate after doing, ahem, The Poo. Lesson learned: do not feed frogs tomato horn worm caterpillars. However, I can just imagine Sparky's eyes lighting up as he crawled up to meet his new dinner. Do the words "Happy Happy, Joy Joy Joy!" resonate?

I have photos from Allykats' bday that I'll be posting soon. Happy 30th Bday Ally Grrl!

My ass still hurts. Every so often I think it's stopped hurting, but today, it's in rare form. Ass bone: die die die. I hates thee with a passion.

Today marks the 5th day I've lived at my new place. Oh sure, I could have stayed at the old place until the 1st, but why?? I'm miserable there, I'd still have to move out sometime, and then everything would be jumbled into one horrible weekend.

So far, the Feliway is still working great (there's been some slight Ppphhhttting, but nothing like you'd expect when introducing your 3 big, jerky cats to 4 other cats who own the house yours are moving to).

Home life has been decent and pleasant. I'm awaiting the delivery of our Ironic Breezes, but a thorough mopping has helped quite a bit already.

Ex housemate update: she sent me a $250 money order (so happy it's not a check) that I can deposit immediately. She sent it after she ignored my email saying "I did not get a check in the mail today like you promised", and then I began calling all her phone called numbers from the July phone bill and asking if anyone knew where she was. That prompted her email and a promise the pay a portion of what she owes me, and would I please not call people from her phone bill. Angry, I immediately told her in email that I would be contacting her by mail only to send her a notice to appear in court if she did not honor her obligations. The next day, yesterday, I received the money order and an apologetic phone call at work. Appeased by that, I'm willing to not make an issue of it in court. Although I did pay $50 for a background check on her, too late to do anything, but there's nothing scary on her, so maybe she really will come through with the rest. Fingers are crossed!

At work, I'm training an old friend to take over my job so that I can be Communications Director or some such nonsense. Not sure what it will entail, but it's basically going to be IT/PR/Fundraising/Outreach and Development. All of which excites me with it's vagueness.

Other stuff at work, not so hot. The elevator broke again, and the downstairs stairwell entrance is locked all the time (although I've unlocked it at various times, and have explained to the management company that keeping such a stairwell locked is a fire hazard) later, our server died and wouldn't let anyone online. Soon after that, I found myself using Adobe Acrobat to pull 26 individually scanned documents into one cohesive document. This of course was time consuming and started around 6:15 PM, and meant that I was getting out very late. But that was okay, they are working on SB 199, a solar bill, and it's got a lot of support (except from REEPS, of course). So there I was, working late, cleaning up my messes, fixing a few things, and then I left. Only. The Front Doors Wouldn't Open. They lock automatically at 6:30, and you are supposed to be able to exit from the inside and use a code to get in after hours. However, The Front Doors Wouldn't Open. I had to get the janitor to help me unlock the manual lock, leaving the building unsecured. I went upstairs again to let the late working group know the situation, and that the elevator was not functioning regularly, and that the building was unsecured and I'd be calling the management company. Again. The second time that day. I followed the voicemails, made the after hours emergency calls, and was contacted by the manager on call. Whose response was basically: if you are working after hours, you are violating your lease. If no one is disabled, they can use the back stairwell to get out. If I left the front door open and the building unsecured, they would basically hold me accountable for any building damages. Frustrated, I watched my bus stop at my stop, but trekked back to the building to re-lock the manual lock and warn everyone again that if they use the elevator and it failed on them, or the stairwell that was locked in the front, they'd be locked in our lobby until 6 AM because there was no egress. Except the dark, scary, back stairwell.

I have pictures. Yes, that's right. I finally found my USB cable and uploaded all my photographs. Some of them are from the last poinsettia trip, and from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and god knows what all. There's a photo of Allykat's chopped up finger, a few photos of Sparky from a couple of weeks ago (when I found my camera and a full battery) and just some fun ones.

It's 6:41 pm on Sunday. I'm mostly moved in. Seamas is miserable, so every room he goes to, I move his bed into and he calms down. I think he can't believe we live here yet because every time I go to the uhaul, he jumps in and looks at me like I'm taking him home. Now.

I managed to step on a walnut and sprained/twisted my ankle. The is the second time I've sprained/strained/twisted this particular ankle in about 3 weeks. Luckily, we'd just rented Starsky and Hutch (it's dumb, but funnier than I thought it would be.) I basically took a break, threw my foot on an ice pack, and leaned up against a bunch of dogs on the couch. I thought it was going to be bad, but the ice definitely helped. I need to wear work boots instead of sneakers until this thing heals. I twisted it really bad on the way to Zatohichi, the Blind Swordsman. In clogs, so it was really twisted. This time, the sneakers buckled, and while I didn't go down, I was definitely limpy. What's the best over-the-counter brace thing I can buy to strap on my foot? I'm kind of spooked about walking or doing anything with my feet, I really don't trust my ankle right now.

For all my friends with allergies, do not come here. You will die. There are 4 dogs and 7 cats. Even I am having a few problems. I think I'm going to invest in an Ionic Breeze or something. It's really bad. Ankle hurts, no kickball. Poop.

However, I am a believer in Feliway. With this many cats living in a small house, it's bound to get hairy. Feliway is basically happy cat pheromones. I didn't believe until we plugged it in and suddenly Churchill came out of the litter box where he had been hiding for 3 days straight, and started exploring the house on his own. Wingnut and Shabazz were downright lovey dovey with the other cats. Sure, Wingnut is now Top Cat, but no one's been bitten yet. I mean, we KNEW it was going to be bad. But we didn't know it was going to be okay again if we plugged in the Feliway (that sounds so creepy. Like some groper's club or something.) Anyway, no one was marking anything, but they were really stressed out and there was many a puffy tail until we added this stuff to the mix. You can get it in a spray or in a "plug in". We got the plug in. Amazing stuff!

Things that need remedying: no cable. Which means, no Olympics. Speaking of which, the pregnant lady with the glowing belly waltzing in a tunic to the sounds of Maria Callas was really fucking weird. I immediately said "no belly button, that's fake" and then the damn thing lights up. Weird. Also, does anyone else thing the male Japanese gymnasts look like anime characters? I think it's the hair.

Erica is out cold. She naps a lot. I need to take one too. But we have to return the Uhaul. And the PF is only leaving SF now, so he's unavailable. I'm stuck out here with a Uhaul. yucko.

My cats are all at Erica's house now. They are getting used to their new digs. The house is designed around pets, so, while it's cute and all, it's definitely not where I will be settling down. Temp-oh-rary. My cats cannot fit through the little cat cut-outs in the doors. Said cut outs will probably have to be enlarged. However, That Erica. She is soooo creative. You know, you go to some basic generic home store, look at pipe, lumber and metal joists and things and you think "pipe. lumber. metal joists and things." She sees cat furniture and climbing paraphernalia. You see foam insulation in a can, she sees lava to trick out a piece of irrigation/drainage pipe wrapped in a hoop to make a jump-through cat sized "hoop of magma". She sees funniness and weirdness. These people have nothing on her. Same thing with these people, because if you give Erica a container of Manic Panic, and turn around for a brief moment of time, your cats and dogs will be butterfly hues and smelling sort of like grapes. They may also be sporting experimental hair cuts that would be embarrassing if the cats were indoor/outdoor instead of indoor only. The best part is when people ask if it's "their natural hair color??" Yeah. Dogs come in purple, lady. Yes, they really really do. No shit! It's really really true...If you see a borzoi with purple eyebrows, do not be fooled. He's a fake.

I, as of this weekend, am moving into that mad house, and will probably just love it for awhile. The move, however, just sucks ass. I hate moving. I hate it so much, my friend Gina reminded me that when I moved from my old apt. on T to the room on 5th street (where I moved in with a nutball single mom and her really fuckled up 12 year old SED/ADD adopted daughter), I was a wreck. I guess I was a train wreck, involving a train and a loaded 18 wheeler semi, a full school bus, and lots of glass. She came over and packed me up that time. I have MORE stuff this time around, so it's exponentially more hellish, except that I can move in anytime until September 1. Basically, most of my books and my cats are there now, and all my nicest clothes are hanging in the closet, but I'm really unmotivated otherwise. That's not new, though. That's pretty much standard.

What else is new? I had a crazy bad dream last night involving the Moes and Ally. For some reason, we were all in our cars trying to get through traffic, when this crazy guy in some giant ATV thing with a ball rutter type of steering/pulverizing mechanism took a turn right in front of us and just rammed all the cars. His ATV shell fell apart, and we could see his manic eyes, and all I could do was scream as this thing came at us. The ball, incidentally, looked like an electric typewriter's typesetter thingamajiggy. I kid you not, it had backwards letters in courier type on it, and it was giant. The thing was flailing and taking out cars, and because I screamed, he came after us. We couldn't get out of the way, so of course, our car was launched into the roof of a house nearby. As we scrambled out, the Type Ball Vehicle came at us over and over again, forcing me to run. From some jerk on a giant typing ball. My dream, my rules, I guess. I'm weird, I know this. I learned long ago not to try to interpret my dreams, they are too weird "you are afraid of....a typewriter vehicle coming at you from all angles like you are on a scrambler ride at the fair..."

Oh, and incidentally, this made me happy. I've been watching San Diego because that city has the property values that show the course of things to come in the near future. I practically did a little jig. FINALLY it's happening. The hot housing market has finally slowed down, suckas.

A man goes walking down his street, and suddenly, he notices that the dog he loved as a child is walking along next to him. The dog had died an old dog, but there he was, prancing at the man's feet like he was a young pup. Of course, the man was worried about that it meant he was actually dead too, but he didn't have a lot of time to think about it what with throwing a stick every 100 feet or so. Soon he noticed that he was walking along a pretty path instead of a street.

He arrived at some beautiful pearly gates. Just inside there was a lovely sparkling fountain and a beautifully landscaped garden. Everyone behind the gates looked very happy. He asked the gatekeeper where he was, and the man said "Oh, this is Heaven, of course!!!" So the man asked if he could come in a get a drink from the fountain, and the gatekeeper said "Oh sure! Absolutely." "What about my dog, can my dog come get a drink??" "Oh no, no absolutely not. Sorry! No dogs in the fountain." The man just stared at the water, but since he couldn't take his beloved little pal with him, he decided to look for a stream or something and trudged on.

After awhile, he came to a farm with a rickety old gate that didn't seem to be used very much. He called out to the farmer sleeping under a tree and asked if the man has some water for himself and his dog. "Sure thing!" said the farmer, and he even brought a bowl. He let them inside the gate to rest on the porch. "Where am I?" the man asked the farmer. "Why, you're in Heaven, of course!" "But at the gates down at the other end of the road, why, the gatekeeper said his place was Heaven." The farmer said "Oh, no no no. That's hell." "Well, don't you get mad about that ever?" The farmer said, "Not a whit. It's actually very helpful. It keeps out the people who wouldn't take their best friends to heaven with them."

Edit: Erica said this story was an old Twilight Zone. Figures! That's why I liked it so much...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I told you it was cute. In that semi adorable christiany sort of way.

~Amelie, who would mummify Seamas and sleep away the centuries snuggled up with him if I could.

MoveonPac (moveonpac.org)has created "Real People" ads. Basically, you rate the ad while considering which Republican Kerry supporter has the most poignant story and would influence your Reep family and friends into voting for Kerry.

I liked the older guy who talks about it being a conservative party, conservative meaning "conservationist" as in, environmentalist. I also like the guy talking about how he's a contractor, can't afford drywall, and that he's going to stay a Republican. But they are both voting for....John Kerry.

Yesterday I hit my PO Box. I got a lovely little thank you note from Mr. Moe, who is the sweetest thing next to Mrs. Moe. AND...

I got a parking ticket delinquency notice. See, my evil roommate needed to borrow a car one night, and I said 'sure, take mine if you can drive stick.' I vaguely recall saying 'just don't get a ticket.' On July 9, at 3:20 PM, my car received a parking ticket at 4th and F. Needless to say, I'm never there. I work until 6 every day, and take the bus. I knew it wasn't me. I sent her an email saying that she'd neglected to let me know about the ticket, so add it on to her IOU. Basically, I will be very surprised if she manages to pay me at all. I know I'm sitting her grouching about it, but I'm soooooo pissed off. I'm having murder fantasies. I don't normally daydream about how I'm going to murder someone, but Nick Cave would be proud. I'm not saying I'd murder her. I'm saying she's made me that angry that I'm actually enjoying the fact that I'm entertaining bloody daydreams and not feeling evil about them. Of course, nothing would happen if she actually showed up, but I might knock her down, tie her up, and strangle her. Oh! See? Bad. Actually, with the way she treated me, I'm sure I'm not her first con job. I'm surprised she's still alive, actually.

Anyway. I have done nothing to pack and move. I have a few boxes. I have no energy. I tend to get depressed when moving, so it makes a lot of sense that I'd be resistant to packing. I can't get into the mood. Moving, if you don't know it already, sucks ass. It's something that I've come to hate and dread so much, it can actually make me sick. And there you have it. I'm a drama mover.

Maybe I can get the PF to treat me to Napoleon Dynamite tonight. If it's actually funny. I need funny.

Okay. So, I posted about not going to my mom's birthday party, and made plans to go to the Reptile Expo instead to spend money on a buddy for Sparky. White's Tree Frogs do really well with other White's Frogs. They crawl all over each other, looking adorable and sweet faced...So, we went. I was still fuming, and after a dish of french fries at Johnny Rocket's, I was verifiably sick to the stomach, mostly from being soooo angry at how mistreated I'd been.

The phone calls started coming around 3, and I just ignored them. My brother called and tried to make ammends, but I basically told him that yeah, I'd been an asshole, but she was a much much bigger one. For being such a small person, my sister can be so evil, twisted, mean and bitchy. I reminded him I had simply voiced my irritation, and that she escalated it by threatening me with a call to the police because hello, she's a creepy exagerating jerk. I forgot to tell her that the last few times I'd called the po-po, they didn't come, and actually called me back to let me know they wouldn't be coming after all. Anyway.

When my cousin called, I finally answered the phone, and talked to her. She just had a baby that I haven't met yet, so I said I was sorry, but that my sister threatened to call the police, and I wasn't coming over where I wasn't wanted. That's when she put her absolutely adorable son on the phone, the kid whose birthday I missed awhile ago, and he said "I love you, I miss you, please come see me I drew you a picture!" It was baby talk, so his mom translated for me.

And I cracked. And I got dressed in a skirt and a nice top, and I went to my mom's party. That little boy just melts me. The minute he saw me, he smiled big and threw his little arms around me. I didn't care that he smelled like his diaper needed changing, he just kills me. And I even talked to my horrible little sister who actually decorated the place really nicely. She's still a bitch, but I don't hate her and hope she chokes like I did this morning when she told me to shut my fucking face and get the hell off her property or she'd call the cops. Boy, that still makes me mad. But I'll stop thinking about it until I see my therapist. She's working on my anger stuff, but really??? I think it's okay to get angry when someone is really horrible to you and when they just flip out when you tell them they never heard you because they weren't listening, a fact they would never admit to, ever. Is this common with adult siblings??? My sister, by the way, is a bigger know-it-all than me, and she's a lot more impatient with people she thinks are stupid, so she doesn't listen to most people. Just an FYI, and that's from her own lips. So cold. Anyway.

My mom made her usual faux pas, and my dad just rolled his eyes, and my cousins freaked out a little (she insults their dead mother, her sister, a lot, but she seems to think it's under her breath. If she wasn't my mom, it would be hilarious), but the party itself was really nice. I went really late, after the food was eaten (the meat, as I suspected, sucked ass, but I took an uncooked london broil home to doctor and salvage for PF and myself later) and stayed late.

My mom, when she is not being irritating, loud, obnoxious, and fake-goofy, was refreshingly cute. It was nice to meet her friends that she's made as a woman-without-children. There's definitely a difference between the friends your mom makes at work and at her book clubs and the friends she has when you were a kid playing with the kids of her friends. Those friends are your aunties and they know WAY too much about you. These NEW people actually ask questions, don't tell you you've gained weight, and don't bug you about marriage/babies. They talked about books and work and interesting things. It was really refreshing! And, they really seemed to like my mom, which was sweet. Especially since I'm under the impression that she tends to alienate people. And she would definitely alienate these friends if they saw her kitchen cupboards, but I digress.

Basically, it was a lovely night. Once I decided to just swallow my pride and come play with small children and ignore my family.

and Sparky has a girlfriend who needs a neat name.

Oh yeah, and my dad looked at my XRays, said my coccyx is REALLY bent, the tip looks broken, and he's having another radiologist take a look. Interesting. Because my ass??? Still hurts like hell. Even with the Rodney Yee back relaxation VHS I bought. Sigh. I'm actually surprised I'm EVER in a good mood, you know??? Hopefully I'll actually get a good answer from someone who knows ass bones...

Well, I won't be going to my mom's birthday after all. The party that I designed the invites and payed for stamps for, the party that I bought all the food, birthday cake, soda and beer for. The party that I landscaped my sister's backyard for. The party that I've gone on pricing shopping trips with my sister for. The party that I designed the menu for.

I'm not going.

I just got into a rager fight with my sister. Mainly because I bought all the food for this party, all of it, and I told her "do not touch this meat", as in "don't put anything on it. I have the stuff for it." I probably said that about 4 or 5 times while we were shopping on Wednesday.

I got to her house with the cake and everything else that I had to buy yesterday (the day I took a half day and missed work to do) because we forgot it or it wasn't availabe at Costco, and saw the meat, on the counter in large bags, $160 worth of london broil (but it was costco, so I actually spent about 1/3 of that on the meat), with garlic and some sort of Worcestershire sauce on it. Basically, the one thing that I said "don't do this", was done. The one fucking thing that I asked them not to do, because I won't eat ruined meat, and I don't think anyone else should either.

I was, needless to say, absolutely furious. Especially since the only money I had until the 15th was saved for this stupid party (all my sister's idea), and I'd said "don't ruin the meat" a bunch of times. No one has paid me back yet, not one of them. My sister bought the tablecloths, my brother got the tables. And they know how poor I am. They know my horrible lack-of-roommate situation.

I let her know right away I was irritated with her about the meat. She told me to back off and shut the fuck up, something about it being her house, blah blah blah. Remember, my sister bought a house in January and has been having all the family events at it voluntarily ever since. Mainly because, well, she's a show off, but that's okay when you have a new house. I do NOT need to have it lorded over me that she bought a house, and I can sit and look pretty and shut the fuck up.

I start setting up the tables, and notice the chairs are brown, not white, like the links I'd sent her and my brother. Same price, but somehow, they get brown delivered. I mention it, and she mouths at me. I mouth back, she screams. I call her a fucking asshole who wants to show off her house and yard (the yard, by the way, that I spent a backbreaking weekend landscaping for her, for this event), and that she's an idiot to boot, because she can't do the one thing I asked her/told her/reminded her not to do. She yells "LEAVE!" Like she's the weird queen from Alice In Wonderland, and I barely stop myself from slapping her imperious face. I yell, "GET ME A CHECK, BITCH!" She threatens to call the cops, and tells my brother to get me the hell out of her house.

Over meat, that I was, in fact, righteously upset about, and vocalized my anger about. This is how my sister is. She gets angry when you confront her on a mistake, and she kicks you out and disowns you and whatnot. This is also why she has a total of 3 friends.

Now, I know my sister is unreasonable, and I know my brother always takes her side of things, and so, that's what happened. And basically, I was unceremoniously thrown out, and honestly, I hope they all choke to death on that horrible smelling marinated meat.

I just called my mom to tell her I wasn't coming to her party, and for her to come over later and bring some cake and other food that I paid for out of my savings. She said she understood why I wasn't coming. See, she knows my sister.

And you know, I didn't wake up on the wrong side of the bed, all I needed to hear was an apology and acknowledgement that someone was an spoiled brat asshole, and it wasn't me for once.

PF, I know you'd be disappointed in me for not just swallowing my anger and staying, but fuck them all. I've been going to therapy for awhile now to deal with my anger issues, but really??? They get blown up out of proportion because my family, the ones who make me the most angry, do stupid stupid things that influence my life and make it worse. And they never see how I'm affected by their bad decisions, even after I've made serious investments into making their lives easier or better. So fuck it. I'm so done with my family right now, you wouldn't believe it.

~Amelie, seriously pissed off and going to the reptile expo instead of a birthday party.

No word yet from the Housemate Who Absconded Into The Night. Last I noted, she emailed me to say "don't change the locks, I'll send you money..." blah blah blah. Like I'm really going to leave the locks alone if she moves out without notice and takes a key with her...So, I paid her rent and gave notice here. I can't WAIT to see her phone bills. I'm so tired of this shite. I hate roommates. I hates 'em, I does. It's been one after another, bad bad bad.

I'm so poor right now, you have no idea.

Lovely stuff:

I spent the evening with my friends from Las Vegas and their kids. They came over here because I can't afford to go to dinner. So, we rented Hellboy (not as bad as it could have been, to my happy surprise! And it's emminently watchable with a 3 year old who's seen Lord Of The Rings a few times) and ordered from Shanghai Garden. I made apple juice. We were set. They are in town until Sunday night. Wheeeee!!!

I miss them so much, you have no idea.

Good stuff:

My FAC (formerly annoying coworker who I now adore to pieces and who apparently just adores me back to pieces), told me to stay home till 1 PM because she figured I had a lot of stuff to do for my mom's bday tomorrow. She has no idea! But I guess she DID have an idea or two about it...I'm so happy to stay home a few more hours! I can run over to Safeway and get the stuff we couldn't buy at Costco earlier this week...

I love my FAC so much, you have no idea.

Funny stuff:

My friend (who shall remain nameless) decided she was sick of the dating scene. Oh, she's taken. But she thought you might not be, and basically, as another friend (who shall also remain nameless) has been righteously whining about over the past few months about the lack of suitable males of our species, and it's absolutely true....there are more women in Sacto than men. And there are WAY more interesting women than there are interesting men. So if you're reading this in Toronto, and you like dark levis, groovy music, intellectual capacities exceeding "duh", have employment opportunities that extend past Statenet, and are bored with the crew of women in your social circle, fly to Sacto and play kickball with us.

She's pretty embarrassed that she did it now, but it's apparently working. She's got 8 replies already and is sorting through them to decide if they are the type of guys she thinks her friends would want to date. She's now wishing she didn't put up the age limits I think, because she got an email from a 21 year old who was all offended-like. Sort of proactive-friendster-like blind date yenta. She made me edit her name to protect the innocent and the guilty alike. Here's the post she put up on Craigslist (I hate craigslist as of the last roommate fiasco). Personally? I think it's the funniest and most fun thing that's happened all week. I wonder who will respond??? Now, I ain't no scenester, but I can appreciate the lack of shaggy-haired dreamy boys. The best ones are taken, the other ones are too shy, or worse, you probably already dated them once or twice. It's a very smallish city here, but like I said, the women are cool. I'd date them all at once like a harem. If I didn't have the PF.

So fellas, if you are reading, yes, we really DO play kickball for fun.

This time it's not black widows or bizarre housemates. This time, it's my parentals.

They missed their connecting flight from LAX to Sacto, but didn't call us until this morning at 8 AM.

Of course, I called Southwest (how I found out they missed the flight) and Virgin to see if they made it from London OK (the rep said yes, but that the plane was 4 hours late and that they'd have been placed in a hotel for the night...only, he didn't know which hotel.)

However, my parents didn't call any of us until 8 AM this morning. 8 AM, PEOPLE!!! Who does that? My brother was at the airport for 2 hours last night trying to page them/track them down. I called every friggin' airline, for pete's sake. Oh, did I mention that my parents called from London and left a message on my brother's phone for him to pick them up? He was at work, so it was just a message. But here's the thing, they didn't tell him ANYTHING about what flight number, airline, time, etc. They said they'd call back later when they got to LAX. Fine, but of course, they never called. The idiots DIDN'T TAKE ANY CELL PHONES with them on their trip abroad for 3.5 weeks. Who does that?! Maybe jerko Luddites, which they are not. They are jerko ANTI-Luddites.

My mom is claiming customs wouldn't let them call in LA from the airport, and not being able to find a cell phone on the plane in London (which was held for 3 hours in London due to weather), etc. etc. (a likely story) Whatever. I have had it with irresponsible people. I mean, I've HAD IT. I hope she gets bitten by a black widow spider in her kitchen cabinets. Good grief. I saved a humongous one from the bathroom in an old prescription bottle, just so they can see what they put us through. There were 6 kitchen cabinets we didn't even get to, for pete's sake. There were spiders in all of them. I'm still freaking out hardcore.

I'm so tired, you have no idea. We are all suffering from insomnia like the frantic, responsible siblings that we are. I have the added fun of not having slept properly since Saturday.

Roommate has completely moved out while PF and I were in SF having a nice time, and she's left strange cryptic note. Seriously freaking out right about now,

~Amelie

Edited: roommate left me a friendster message saying she will clear up this mess and thanked me for being understanding.
I am washing my hands of it all until I have proof of bank issues etc., I'm still moving out and giving notice later this week.